Susun Weeds Wise Woman Forum

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I have just enrolled in the adaptogen course. I am very excited about it. Berries, mushrooms, things that I love! I hope to be able to grow either in my garden or green house some of the ones that I am not yet familiar with. To me this is one of the magical blessings of the plant beings, that they will give us what ever our bodies need. Wow!

I haven't yet. Ill put it in my que!I'm really liking the course a lot. I have always been an advocate of food as medicine and the Adaptogens are that! I am also very blessed to live in a place where wild mushrooms live.

We harvested Turkey Tail last fall, I haven't used it yet. We grew some lovely Oyster mushrooms last year which we dehydrated (at 95 degrees, which is supposed to leave the dried material 'live'), we use them daily and a nice hunk of Reishi goes into every soup pot along with Astragalus, I LOVE Astragalus!Here's Susun talking about Reishi!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE8mvkvkfmo

Lady Alinor wrote:We harvested Turkey Tail last fall, I haven't used it yet. We grew some lovely Oyster mushrooms last year which we dehydrated (at 95 degrees, which is supposed to leave the dried material 'live'), we use them daily and a nice hunk of Reishi goes into every soup pot along with Astragalus, I LOVE Astragalus!Here's Susun talking about Reishi!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE8mvkvkfmo

Thanks for these! I have so much watching and listening and learning to do! I love Turkey Tail. It is a plant that really suits me. Last year I was blessed with a huge harvest of it. I also found too many chantrells (lol), maitake, lions mane, bears tooth (related to lions mane). I was able to trade for Reishi and Chaga. I like to make tinctures of all of them and the choice edibles I freeze and eat all winter.

We get a few small chantrells, cute little things.We hike in the Cascades alot and I gotta admit we are lucky to walk a mile an hour because of wanting to meet all of the plants and mushrooms.We've had a lot of wildfires the last few years so the morels are supposed to be plentiful.Last year we plugged some logs with Shiitake, no signs of life yet, we had a super wet Winter and Spring last year, I'm hoping that is why we are still waiting.I do enjoy watching mushroom foraging on YouTube, hoping some of the confidence will rub onto me lol.....well actually YouTube is the only 'television' we watch. So many teachers, some of them very good, my brain screams for more information hahaha

Lady Alinor wrote:We get a few small chantrells, cute little things.We hike in the Cascades alot and I gotta admit we are lucky to walk a mile an hour because of wanting to meet all of the plants and mushrooms.We've had a lot of wildfires the last few years so the morels are supposed to be plentiful.Last year we plugged some logs with Shiitake, no signs of life yet, we had a super wet Winter and Spring last year, I'm hoping that is why we are still waiting.I do enjoy watching mushroom foraging on YouTube, hoping some of the confidence will rub onto me lol.....well actually YouTube is the only 'television' we watch. So many teachers, some of them very good, my brain screams for more information hahaha

I have been very excited to learn how many of the american adaptogens I already use. I use hawthorn and elderberry tincture regularly. I strain off the whey from both my kefir and yogurt and just sip some every day. I love blueberries and I add them to oatmeal, and smoothies. I'm using ashwaganda for the first time and it really suits me! I like it in the evening in warm Keifer or milk and honey. I am plating some gogi berries this year and honey berries. I love making making tinctures and I'm going to do a number of different berries this year. I haven't really gotten into youtube much. I don't have great internet and I love books! I have learned most of what I know about mushrooms from books. I also have a friend that i go hunting with and we share our knowledge and our finds. My place is prolific with chantrells. I get pounds and pounds of them! It's funny because near the end of their season I feel like "geeze! more chantrelles!" I give a lot of them away. I've thought about growing shitake, but the deer really love them and I don't feel like arguing with them! This past summer I found quite a lot of maitake, I tinctured some and froze some. I also found lions mane and Bears tooth (related). I was able to freeze enough to eat them at least once a week.

It's so strange to read about "too many chanterelles"! I grew up with parents who gathered mushrooms (for food as opposed to medicinal value), and chanterelles were everybody's favourite, but there were never enough of them and the season was short. They were the only ones I ever got confident enough to gather on my own.

Also, I see that I am going to have to try Ashwaganda, since I've been hearing so much about it for the last few years. I've always loved Astragalus. And I too have always used hawthorn and elderberry.

For school I did a monograph on Ashwagandha, amazing plant it gives one the vitality and stamina of a Horse!Remember one must use a fat with it, butter, full fat milk even coconut oil. I use about 1/8th of a tsp. in the oats for two.Also if one is sensitive to nightshades best keep in mind that ashwagandha is a nightshade as is Goji...believe it or not haha I'm still struggling with that revelation hahaha! Goji berry aka Wolf berry is a member of the solanaceae family.I'm surprised by all the cautions associated with Goji Berry http://www.wildbynature.com/ns/DisplayM ... -wolfberry

Of course the cautions are there to make us aware to 'possible' interactions, sensitivities and draw-backs like if one is undergoing radiation Goji can intensify the radiation. Hmmmm that gets me to thinking about the possible intensification of excess solar rays during heightened solar activity and depleted ozone layers and the threatened pole shift. We should all be wearing wide brimmed hats when outdoors anyway.

For some reason My computer won't let me connect to that link. I'll try again another time. I am aware of both Ashwaganda and Gogi being night shades. I used to eat a lot of potatoes and tomatoes but hardly do at all anymore. I believe I did develop some sensitivity, but I want to try these and see how they suit me. I didn't Know about Ashwaganda needing fat, but it makes sense considering that most of the Indian herbs ans spices are "released" into ghee. I felt attracted to it because of the connection to vitality and stamina of the horse! Horses are a very important part of my life.There is so much to learn about each plant! I really like Susun's suggestion to choose 8 and use each for 6 weeks. I still go out in the sun. I'm not ready to hide from it and am prepared to take my chances! Tell me more about doing a monograph.